To Live Valiantly Prov. 31 Melissa McDonald

to live Valiantly

A study on the Proverbs 31 Woman by Melissa McDonald

Table of Contents

A!i"ng to be a Hero Heroic Deeds Victo"$s Endeavors Her Noble Purpose A Tru%wo&hy Ally Notes

3 8 13 17 22 28



3 A!i"ng to be a Hero

Look into the sky. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so much higher are God's thoughts than our thoughts.1 Through all of Scripture He communicates His thoughts, His ways, and most importantly Himself to us. In the conclusion to the book of Proverbs, He lays out for us what a true woman, looks like.2 Sometimes she may surprise us and sometimes she may overwhelm us, but before we begin examining what she is like, take a minute to ask yourself, "When I %ep back from ) business

of life, what kind of woman do I a!ire to be?" Write down a few thoughts about this vision:

For Discussion What messages do you hear from culture about what an ideal woman looks like? Ask women of different ages to share what the cultural ideal was for their generation.

What is the picture of an ideal woman you've observed in Ch"%ian community?

Take a magazine you've read in the last month and look at a few articles asking,

"What messa+ does *, tell me ab$t what

, ideal?"

There are so many messages we hear about what is ideal. Sometimes in a single issue of a magazine we can get conflicting advice. Only the Bible gives us a picture that's consistent and ultimately fulfilling. The woman described in Proverbs 31:10-31 is the biblical portrayal of an ideal wife. As we study this woman, it will most likely confirm certain ideas we have about what we ought to be and at other times challenge our ideas.

"Open my eyes *at I may see wonderful *ings in y$r law." ~Psalm 119:18

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In the opening line to the poem in Proverbs 31:10-31 the woman is called

valiant. Looking at a few translations helps flush out the full implications of the word.

Here are a few ways translators summarize this ideal wife:

NIV:

"noble character"

NASB:

"excellent"

Bible Study Tip

NRSV:

"capable"

To do this type of comparison

ESV:

"excellent"

on your own, you can lookup

NET:

"noble"

a variety of translations online

Amplified: "capable, intelligent, and virtuous" through a website such as

.

Pick a few of the words listed above and write

down what they communicate about this woman?

This word "is frequently found in military contexts," and could literally be

translated a woman of valor.3 Just as a man would need courage and strength to be a hero in war, so also this woman displays the virtues that designate her as a heroic woman. "Here the title indicates that the woman possesses all the vi&ues, honor, and

"If our religion is something objective, then we must never avert our eyes from those elements in it which seem puzzling or repellent; for it will be precisely the puzzling or the repellent which conceals what we do not yet know and need to know."

~C.S. Lewis6

%reng* to do the things that the poem will set forth."4

This designation of a valiant wife isn't the only place the poem utilizes images of the aggressive strength belonging to a hero. In fact, words with heroic connotations are found throughout the poem.5 In this chapter we will look at the portrayal of her %reng* and in the following chapters we will unpack

why she needs to be so valiant.

5 Below are some verses where the poet chooses words that are typically used in military or other aggressive settings as he describes the woman. These heroic connotations don't change the meaning of what the woman does, but illustrate the weightiness and gravity of her role. Read through the entire poem in Proverbs 31:10-31. Then look over the words below that are typically used in a heroic context and choose three of the images that you find particularly surprising or intriguing. Answer the questions about those verses.

? Verse 11 the good that her husband does not lack is also the military word

used for plunder, the goods the winning party took from the people they had

defeated. Bringing home plunder implied victory. Think through the effort, energy, and strategy it would have taken to defeat an enemy so completely that the army carried home plunder. How does this enhance your understanding of the effort, energy, and strategy the ideal wife puts forth to ensure that her husband lacks nothing of value?

? Verse 15 her act of preparing food for her family draws on the imagery of a lioness hunting prey at night.

Write down adjectives that come to mind when you think of a lioness hunting for her cubs:

What is revealed about the woman by comparing her provision of food for her family to that of a lioness?

"The preying metaphor must not be pressed to signify unethical activity; this woman fears the LORD."

~Bruce Waltke8

? Verse 17 the woman is described as gir-ng her loins wi* %reng*. "When

men needed freedom for work or for running, they lifted the hem of the tunic [the man's basic piece of clothing] and tucked it into the girdle [a belt that held the tunic to the waist] to gain greater freedom of movement. It was called `girding up the loins,' and the phrase became a metaphor for preparedness."7

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